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Thoughts on the Binary Domain and ME3 demos

Both dropped online a few days ago so I took a break from Amalur to try them out.

Binary Domain

Right. So this one takes place in 2080 where robot tech has become so advanced in that some can pass themselves off as people. To give players a reason to go in and shoot up stuff, they eventually go bonkers forcing part of Tokyo to be cordoned off. Of course, someone needs to go in and see what’s going on, so you take on the role of a hardass “Yank” with a squad of two AI controlled teammates that go in to blow away these walking droids with anything that you can get.

It’s a Gears of War style third-person shooter with a cover system and boxes of bullets. The graphics are actually pretty decent, especially for the robots as they split apart and fragment into chunks with every shot. Gameplay is pretty cut and dry, but one level was pretty dynamic with a moving train providing access to the other platforms at the station. Lots of eye candy, action was arcade-like, though the cover and mantling system felt a little wonky compared to Gears.

Decently fun, though, so this could be interesting.

Mass Effect 3

First thing I had to remember – this isn’t a traditional RPG anymore. It’s more of an action shooter with RPG elements now, though I can’t help but think of it as reaching for the plateau that Borderlands sits upon while conflicted on whether it should keep enough of its former identity to keep itself unique.

Shooting still feels clunky, especially in comparison to other third-person shooters that I’ve gone through like Gears. The guns just lack that kind of oomph that other games do better. Even Binary Domain’s system felt more intuitive and fluid than ME3’s does from the demo.

That said, it also gave us a peek at the revamped skill system and I liked what I saw. Deeper, branching alternates for powers held out possibilities for character crafting and a confirmation on hybrid skill sharing between classes opens the door even wider to more replay potential. Have to admit that hearing Anderson’s and Hackett’s (Keith David and Lance Henriksen, respectively) brought a smile to my face especially when Shepherd left on his mission.

So storywise, I don’t have any real worries if it can deliver more snippets like the edited versions we saw in the demo. Can’t wait to see the culmination of all of my decisions bubble up to the surface for better or worse. Hopefully, grinding through ME2’s ending multiple times so that everyone would live will turn up some interesting twists.